Hand knitting machine



Dec. 8, 1953 M. NEGRI El AL 2,661,611 HAND KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 20 l950 3 Sheets-Sheet l h 4 INVENTORS.

By 7Z7 Dec. 8, 1953 M. NEGRI ET AL HAND KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 20, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 2 32 M W BY W Dec. 6, 1953 M. NEGRI Er AL 2,661,611

HAND KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 20, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 f INVENTORS M BY [w Patented Dec. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAND KNITTING MACHINE Mario Negri and Ismaele N egri, Milan, Italy Application April 20, 1950, Serial No. 156,968 Claims priority, application Italy May 21, 1949 4 Claims.

The object of our invention is to improve hand knitting machines for the execution of knitting work in various designs, identical with designs obtained by hand knitting or crocheting.

The principal object of this invention, is the provision of a pair of bearings for the so-called comb, which bearings, being one opposite the other, have specially shaped grooves that serve both to sustain and to guide pivots at the ends of the comb. -Thes bearings are, in fact, so shaped as to allow the comb, that remains always parallel to itself, to be moved along certain lines, to rotate round its axis constituted by two pivots, and finally to be suspended in various positions, all this in such a way as to obtain the greatest facility for operating the comb itself during the operations of unhooking the weft from the sinkers and of releasing the fabric from the needles, which operations become semi-automatic. The continuous path of the comb during the movement imparted to it by hand, ensures the regular taking up of the stitches, or loops, from the ends of the sinkers, and the subsequent release of the fabric from the needles, as well as uniformity of the finished fabric and speed of operation, while no skill is required from the operator.

The invention may be applied and in different embodiment, according to particular industrial or commercial consideration, without departing from the essential characteristics and from the scop of the present invention.

The above described improvements will be clearer understood by means of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the improved knitting machine according to the present invention. This description refers to the attached drawings in which:

Fig. l is a front view of the machine on a reduced scale;

Fig. 2 is also a fragmentary front view of the same machine on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 shows a cross section of the machine on line 33 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 a longitudinal section of the same machine on the line 6-4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of one of two symmetrical devices for regulating the distance of the comb, taken on line 55 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view;

Fig. 7 a side elevation of an end bearing; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of an end bearing, with the comb disposed in different positions.

The general arrangement of the machine is shown in Fig. 1. The machine is substantially composed of a body from whose front part project the extreme ends of the sinkers, between which the needles of the comb l are inserted. The comb I is supported at both its ends by bearings 2, 2 whose position towards the front of the machine can be changed by operating the devices 3, 3. On the top side of the machines body, a longitudinal aperture is provided through which the movable members ending in the handles 4, 4 are protruding to the outside, which elements serve to operate the sinkers. The operated parts are all assembled in a convenient position for the operator, the machines front being inclined backwards as shown especially in Fig. 3.

In its structural part, the machine is composed of an inside and an outside body (Figs. 2, 3, 4) enclosed within the terminal hoods 6 that form the heads. This inside body consists of .two walls 5 and 5' at the front and rear respectively. The hoods 6 connect and support the walls and, with their supports 7, sustain the machine on the table or any other base. The movable parts of the interior are sustained by the inside frame 8, whose extreme ends are supported by the head parts 6. At these extreme ends of the frame are also fixed the sockets 9 of the rod I0 that constitutes the guide and support of the movable members II on whose ends l2 the handles 4 are fitted. The particular shape of the guiding means l6, clearly shown in Fig. 3, ensures the correct position and alignment of all the movable members.

The movable members II bear, at their lower part, the portions 13 to which the activating cams 14 are fitted. Whenever the manually operated members 4 are pushed to the left or right, the curved profile of the said cams l4 effects the advance or return of the sinkers I5, I 5 by acting on the U-shaped portion l5, l5 of a group of sinkers, which are individually pushed outwards, by independent springs l6, l6. In order to keep tight the tapes i1 and [8 that back the sinkers after the passage of the movable members, and to ensure the return of the tapes, which movement, in view of the flexibility of the tapes cannot be obtained by applying pressure, the tapes are arranged in a closed loop. The closed loop is constituted by the lower portions of the ribbons l9 and 20 returned by the lateral pulleys 21, and extending inside the guides 22 that are fixed to the frame 8 by means of the sockets 23.

In order to regulate the size of the knitted loops, the distance of the comb I from the front part of the machine can be changed, 1. e. a variation is brought about in the relative position of the hooked ends 24 of the sinkers on the one hand, and the needles of the comb l on the other hand. The devices 3, 3 which bring about this change of position and thus regulate the size of the stitches, are shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The bearings 2 of the comb I are distanced from the front plate 5 of the machines body by an axial cam 26 on whose inclined periphery the end of the screw 21 abuts, which screw, as it is sunk into the combs body 2, constitutes at the same time an initial means for registration, and for subsequent correction, of the system. The axial cam 26 is fixed to the sector 28, at whose peripherial part the handle 29- is fitted in such away as to be axially movable and to be resiliently pushed inwards, thus causing its pivot 30 with its extreme end to enter into one of the holes 31, 3| on the main part of the device. In this way, the device itself is fixed in the desired position. This device is not only easy to handle, but it also prevents the otherwise easily incurred mistake of registering the support on one side in a different position from that on the other side, because it is sufficient to note any possible dissymmetry in the position of the two handles 29.

The constructional and functional characteristics of the bearings 2 of the comb i constitute the main feature of the above described machine. They are illustrated particularly in Figs. 5, f7 and 8. The bearings 2 are constituted by shaped blocks that are preferably made of a stamped plastic materia They have inner oppositely arranged faces formed with cavities 32 for receiving the pivots 33 that support the comb I.

Fig. '7 shows clearly, on a greatly enlarged scale, the particular shape of the cavities 32. These cavities consist of a groove sunk into the fiat face 34 of every bearing 2 and has an opening 35 through which the pivots 33 may be introduced, in the direction indicated by (i, into the cavity itself. Apart from this aperture 35, the cavity represents a closed path in whose upper part a recess 35 is provided. In this recess 36, and particularly in the position 33d shown in Fig. 8, the pivot of the comb is kept, whenever the latter is to be maintained in the position Id, i. e. during the operations of disposing theyarn inside the channel formed by the needles of the comb, and the extreme ends of the sinkers in their advanced position 24d. While maintaining the combsuspended by means of its pivots rotating inside the recess 36 as bearing, the comb may be turned up in the sense indicated by E, thus assuming the position le. In this Way, being pulled downwards by the loops, the weft passes around the needles and makes knots with the yarn that is held in zig-zag formation by the sinkers. The comb remains automatically in the position le, because it abuts against the abutments 31 that are provided on the upper por-- tion of the bearings 2.

If returned downside in the direction indicated by F, the comb is again in starting position. The subsequent row of stitches is obtained by manually moving the comb in such a way as to make its pivots run along the path defined by the grooves indicated by the arrows in Fig. 8, until they return to the recesses33d. The particular shape of the grooves ensures a perfect and easy operation, not carried out by'holding the comb in hand as in the known machines, but by means of a well defined guide. Anyzmistake is avoided by the presence. of the cam 38 which makes'it impossible for the pivotpushed inthe the position indicated by Figs.

direction indicated by the arrow 9 to slip out of the bearing, and forces it instead to move downwards in the direction h. Another cam 39 forces the same pivot after its nearly circular movement to move downwards again in the direction 1, while finally a third cam 40 stops the pivot in its movement by preventing it from getting into the direction g and guides it-instead to return into its starting position 36.

When all the needles 25 of the comb l are in 3 and 8, i. e. pointing directed upwards, they take part in the formation of the same number of loops. In order to eliminate certain needles from the operation, these particular needles are lowered so far as to placetheir extreme ends below the extreme ends of the sinkers. This is easily done by throwing back the hinged part M in Fig. 3 of the comb, thus opening the comb itself, and shifting the hooked butt 25' at the lower end of the needles 25 shank from cavity 52 to cavity 43.

The above described improvements have been illustrated exclusively in one preferred embodiment thereof. The invention, however, is not intended to be limited by the details shown. Numerous other modifications of the machine may be'made without departing fromv the spirit of the invention. As others, with a current knowledge of this art, might make use of some particulars of construction and operation as described, the invention should not be intended to remain limited by what has been disclosed above, but should be understood to cover the. whole range of equivalences, particularly as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hand knitting machine, comprising in combination, supporting means; a. plurality of sinker elements movably mounted in said supporting means; manually operable means for advancing and retracting said sinker elements; a comb provided with a plurality of needles; two pivots, each pivot fixedly secured to one. end of said comb; and end bearings supported by said supporting means and supporting said comb, said end bearings having inner opposed faces, each of said inner opposed faces provided with a groove, each of said grooves constituting a continuous path for guiding said pivots and said comb during the operation of said comb.

2. A hand knitting machine comprising an outside body open on top; an elongated inside body supporting a series of parallel elements constituting a row of sinkers, each of said parallel elements having a U-shaped central portiomtwo manually operable members having actuating portions located in a channel formed by said U- shaped portions of said parallel elements, said actuating portions being shaped in such a way that their passage in one direction urgesthe sinkers with which they enter into contact to be advanced, while their passage in the opposite direction causes saidsinkers .to be returned; tapes carried along by eachof said manually operable members maintaining said sinkers in their position after the passage of the respective member; springs applied to each sinker tending'to advance the same; a comb attached frontally'to the outside body and provided with a series of needles; two pivots,each of said pivots secured to one end of said comb; and bearings for supporting said comb, said bearings being provided with cavities in which said pivotbmay be introduced and movedabout, said cavities being furthermore shaped in such a way as to allow the comb to be supported in an uplifted position as well as to guide said comb to follow a given path during the movements imposed on the comb itself in order to knot the yarn held by said sinkers, such bearings being provided with tangential apertures that allow the passage of said pivots from the inside to the outside of said cavities.

3. In an improved hand knitting machine as claimed in claim 2, said end bearings for the comb formed with open channels on the respective inner faces which are facing each other, each channel shaped in such a way as to form a continuous path in the upper part of which a central cavity is directed downwards for introduction of one of said pivots of the comb, and for Supporting the comb and allowing its rotation about said pivot, While the lower portion of said open channel is shaped in such a way as to allow the lowering of the comb, and its return upwards, when the comb is located nearest to the body of the machine, the side Walls of said channels being provided with cam portions for guiding said pivots towards the central cavity and towards the lower portion of said channel, respectively.

4. In an improved hand knitting machine as claimed in claim 2, said end bearings for the comb, fixed to the machines body by means of a device for adjusting the distance of said comb with respect to said body, such device being constituted by a lever with a movable handle having an axial peg adapted to be introduced in stationary holes disposed along its trajectory line so as to allow blocking of the lever in various positions, the levers central portion constituted by an obliquely cut cylinder the oblique surface of which is abutting against the respective bearing in such a way that to each position of the lever corresponds a definite distance of the bearings, and therewith of the comb itself, from the machines body.

MARIO NEGRI.

ISMAELE NEGRI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,250,230 Luchsinger July 22,1941 2,501,045 Groszmann Mar. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 251,862 Switzerland Nov. 30, 1947 515,081 Great Britain Nov. 24, 1939 789,612 France Nov. 4, 1935 945,565 France Nov. 29, 1948 

